LEARNING TO LEAD. 1st Kings 3:1-15 Solomon was around twenty years old when he became king of Israel. His older brothers had families and some experience in life but low morals and few personal convictions. As a young man, Solomon made a bad mistake in marrying Pharaoh's daughter. He may have thought it was a good political move, but he never asked for counsel from God. To secure his southern border was one thing, but to bring an Egyptian princess to live in the city of David was quite another.
Solomon's treaty with the Egyptian pharaoh was the first of many that eventually led to his ruin. Egypt had no alliance with Israel before this time, but Israel's increased size and strength under the leadership of David and Solomon made it a force to be reckoned with. Prestige and power are important to the way nations interact. Commercial, economic, and security interests that promote a nation's self-interests are as vital in the affairs of men and countries today as they were in Solomon's time.
There is no indication that Solomon consulted the Lord about making this alliance, which weakened him personally and his obedience to Israel's foundational principles. Israel belonged to God, not Solomon. Even though Gezer, a Canaanite city, was given as a dowry when Pharaoh’s daughter married Solomon, that acquisition focused Solomon on the wrong person.
It is not correct to be willing to do what we were taught is wrong, even though we are not sure. A person may be very lovely, and it may seem harmless to marry an unbeliever, but when one-third of our spiritual life is missing in our spouse, we will soon find that the missing part is most essential. God's standards are for our good.
Other serious problems in Israel needed attending because the people's religious practices drew their hearts and minds away from God. They adapted their sacrifices to God for what was suitable and advantageous. They chose to worship wherever they chose and made sacrifices in “high places,” following the practices of those who worshipped idols.
The high places where idol worship occurred in the past were not of the Lord's choosing. Doing the right thing in the wrong place does not make it right. It is never God's will to initiate our way and place of worship. Worship in a way that we choose and a mindset that does not realize that God’s ways are not our ways eventually leads to apostasy. The Tabernacle had been set up in a high place at Gibeon, but people made sacrifices elsewhere on “high places” of their own making. However, Solomon finally did bring his great sacrifices there.
Solomon had been inconsistent in that he did not meet the requirements of the law concerning worship and the place of worship. In grace, God spoke to him in a dream when he went to Gibeon, where the Tabernacle was, and made his great sacrifices of one thousand burnt offerings. There was no question about his love for God, but many questions about what he understood about God. The altar was there, not at the “high places.” It was there that loyalty to God was evident. There, the priests did the order of sacrificing as God had commanded. Then, God told Solomon to ask what he wanted God to give him.
A matter of convenience may seem appropriate to us, but when God makes plain in His word specific requirements for us to follow in our worship and service for Him, that is not up for change or discussion. God has specific plans and practices we are to follow. It may seem insignificant to us to make convenient changes, but it is wrong if it does not follow the divine pattern in the scriptures.
When we, as children of God, are doing what He wants in the way He wants, and when our love for God is real, He is willing to speak to us despite our ignorance and childishness. The kindness and love of God do not come and go., but a willingness to do what He wants and not do our own thing again opens the way for divine instruction, wisdom, and the strength to obey Him. God is faithful to those who know and love Him and are willing to repent and commit themselves to what is right. Genuine humility is not hidden from God and can often be seen by others.
Solomon needed to meet the requirements of the law concerning legal worship. Being at the Tabernacle at Gibeon motivated him to build the temple so the ark at Jerusalem and the other pieces of the Tabernacle could be brought together. God was willing to come to Solomon in a dream after he had done wrong in offering sacrifices in his way. The right way was that the priests offered the sacrifices. Solomon's prayer to God was honored by God, but not the sacrifices. God did not even mention them to him.
Doing things our way opens the way for false teaching that leads people astray. God may meet and awaken us when we are in a place where we should not be. How gracious of God to speak to Solomon there with kindness and personal interest. Sometimes, we may do something wrong because we need to know something better. Then, when God in mercy shows us what is right and His will and way, we must stop what is wrong and commit ourselves to doing what He says.
Solomon understood that David's success was because of God's faithfulness to him, his true fellowship, and his fear of God. He knew David's position was an act of kindness on God's part and because of God's mercy. Now, he wanted that for himself. He also knew his limitations at age twenty. He knew his need was for God to be with him. He knew he needed to gain more experience and discernment. His request was not that he sit back and let God work for him but that God would work through him by giving him the needed wisdom and courage to lead the people of God. That is still a basic need for effective leadership.
Learning a lot from those older than us is possible when one is so inclined. They are of a different generation, and times change, but life principles that follow the word of God do not change. A wise young person listens to parents and grandparents or other trusted older people and asks questions about how they lived and served the Lord. Wise decision-making is essential for those whom God calls to His service. Submission to divine guidance is not surrender to circumstances or pressures put on us. It is moving forward in faith and confidence that "this is the way; walk ye in it."
David, the father, learned firsthand in the field; Solomon, his son, learned secondhand in the palace. David knew the value of every person, from caring for his father’s sheep, preserving them from danger, and ensuring they were feeding on suitable pasture. The son learned from his father what it was essential to do and keep when leading people. The father went to war to bring peace to the nation. The son had learned from his father that he had obligations to meet before God and those over whom he now ruled. David loved the Lord with all of his heart. From his example, the son learned right from the start that God had authority over him. Some things we learn from those who are older, we must keep.
David had a problem with the opposite sex and did not face it in the right way. Solomon saw his father's model and fell under the spell of thinking power, which gave him the right to do what he wanted under the cover of night. The father was a good ruler who generally lived a good life and was loved and accepted by those he led. The son went farther but didn’t give the same light of holiness, righteousness, and humility. For the most part, the father did things in God’s way, but sadly, the son went gradually farther and farther away. The son started out walking in God’s ways like his father before him, but he added his ideas to what God wanted and gradually succumbed to those who were strangers to grace and God and were without spiritual light and, though wise, departed from what he was taught.
From my father before me, I learned lessons that work in life: “Don’t get what you can’t pay for.” “Always do what is best for your wife because you are responsible for her.” “Don’t be hard or easy; moderation is a good characteristic. Avoid extremes either way, and people will hear what you say.” “Work hard to provide the necessities of life for your family; always give the Lord His portion of what He has given you.” “Be kind to the poor and helpless.” “Give reverence when reverence is due.” “Pray a lot; read the Bible and learn that those who honor God, He will honor.” “Keep a little money separate for when needs arise, but put your treasure up yonder where your heart is.”
God and His kingdom come first in the lives of all of God's people. Eternal things are more important than temporal things. People are more important than things. Treasures in heaven are more important than material wealth. We are to live by divine principles rather than the guidelines of worldly men.
We will find our greatest satisfaction when God is first in our lives and has first place in all we do. The Lord appreciated Solomon's request for discernment and an understanding heart so he would know how to do what was right and avoid that which was wrong. If God graciously gives us particular abilities and gifts, then our responsibility is to use them in ways that will glorify Him.
It is possible to have wisdom but lack the character strength to act on it. Our obligation is like Solomon's: Walk in God's way, keep God's commands, and be diligent in the service He has called upon us to do. The next time Solomon offered sacrifices of burnt and peace offerings, it was in Jerusalem in front of the ark of God. It was there that the presence of the Lord was situated until the temple was built there.
Even if we have done something wrong in our Christian life, let us face that wrong, repent of it, and commit ourselves to that which we know is right. Humility, contrition, and change open doors of service for the Lord as we act in faith in Him. He gives the needed wisdom, understanding, and courage to act appropriately.
God graciously guides us when we stop doing what we think is right and admit to our inexperience and lack of wisdom. We need understanding from our Lord to get beyond our own opinions and act on what the Lord tells us with courage and a sense of responsibility. Our lives here are a training time for whatever God has for us in the ages to come. Character is formed through life's labor, mistakes, and victories in this age of darkness and human self-glory.
If God should ask me someday, “What do you want the most?” I hope I will have the grace to say, “Not something in which to boast, but I would like to be like my Lord and know Him better. Also, I would like to be an able minister of His Word, teaching its spirit, not just the letter. I want to be able to explain the message of the Gospel to others clearly. I pray that the truths God has let me gather will help His people prosper. If it were possible, I’d like to be a soul-winner to the end of my days, for I would know throughout eternity many were led to Christ, the Way.
Recently, I’ve been made to consider how one’s life will ultimately end. I really would like it if my heavenly Father gave me some special grace so that I might be able to honor Him before friends and family so that, in some way, I might challenge them by testifying of His grace to me.
Is there a need for this building you are making – can you precisely define its use and why it needs to be so elaborate? You need a place to live; that is not the issue – how will you design it? For your pleasure and comfort alone? Are there other reasons you need such a prominent place more than comfort in cold seasons and hospitality year-round? Build your life and home with a view to your calling of God. Make your house a valuable tool in the work of the Lord. You will find great satisfaction when there is room for others and your home is open to your sisters and brothers.
How do I go about participating in building the house of the Lord? Is there a blueprint to follow when building without stone or boards? What material can I gather and ultimately use so the house of the Lord is what God Himself chooses it to be like? The materials are flesh and blood—living stones that add to each other and form a solid structure that can withstand storms and opposition. As we build upon the foundation doctrine of the apostles, and Christ is the Chief Cornerstone in the great Body, people are added locally to the ongoing testimony of an assembly of believers who gathered in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
“What are we protecting by building a wall? Shouldn’t there be room for anyone in an assembly? Why put a barrier? We are all the family of man. And if we let everyone in, what could be the harm?” Separation from sin is an obvious choice. In God’s things, immorality is not given a voice to contradict what God says about His people being holy, like He is holy. To compromise righteousness in business and the pursuit of making a living is to be like the world system of “Me first.” To give place to the devil to make everyone feel good about themselves keeps the banner of truth furled. Builders in the house of God need to follow the plan of the Designer. Personal life-building or furthering God’s House and the wall that guards the truth is like a city based on fundamental truth, not sentiment or pity.